other N3 common casualpolitewritten
自分 — oneself / myself
自分 ・ じぶん
Meaning
- oneself / myself / one's own — a reflexive pronoun pointing back to the subject
Key sentence
自分のことは自分でやる。
I do my own things myself.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Standalone pronoun | 自分（が・を・に・の…）— takes particles like any noun | 自分で / 自分の部屋 |
Examples
彼は自分の間違いを認めた。
He admitted his own mistake.
自分で決めたことだから、後悔はしない。
It's something I decided myself, so I have no regrets.
When you can't use it
- 自分 normally refers back to the sentence's subject, so in a sentence with someone else as subject it points to that person, not the speaker (社長は自分の車で来た = 'the president came in his own car').
Easily confused with
Notes
- 自分 is also used by some speakers (especially men, and in military/sports contexts) as a humble 'I.'
See 自分 in real sentences
Jengo shows 自分 the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in Jengo